Adjustable seat supporting device



July 11, 1944- v J. s. PEcKER Erm.. 2,353,497

ADJUSTABLE SEAT SUPPORTING' DEVICE.

Filed Aug. 27, 1 9'41 l ,I .Irweazors Patented July 11, 1944 ADJUSTABLE SEAT SUPPORTING DEVICE Joseph S. Pecker and Henry A. Simpson, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Machine and Tool Designing Company, a corporation of Pennsyl- Vania Application August 27, 1941, Serial No. 408,434

1 Claim.

Our invention relates to adjustable seat supporting device and is especially applicable to stools or chairs used at lunch counters.

The device is especially adapted for use with seats of such stools or chairs which have a swivel connection with a fixed post or pedestal or other suitable supporting structure.

The object of the invention is to provide adjustable seat supporting means adapted to be applied to standard stools or chairs without any change in the main structure thereof.

The object is also to provide improved adjustable seat supporting means adapted to be applied to any chair or stool, no matter how built.

The purpose of the invention is to provide means to facilitate the adjustable movement of the seat toward or away from the counter to accommodate customers differing in size, so that the individual customer may be seated at a distance from the counter which may be most convenient and comfortable.

The invention also comprises means whereby the stool or chair may be moved into said desired position and then locked in said position as long as the seat is occupied.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates merely by way of example the preferred embodiments of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of same.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughoutV the several views.

As shown, especially in Fig. 1, the seat member IG is usually of wood, but may of course be made of any other suitable material. In accordance with the present invention the swivel post I I, which is usually provided with a ange for attachment to the underside of the seat member, is detached therefrom, and the improved adjusting mechanism is secured to the underside of said seat member I0, in place of said flange.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the upper extension of a two-leaf spring member I2 is attached, in any suitable way, to the underside of the seat Ill.

The spring member I2 comprises a sheet of llat spring metal, bent intermediate its two ends, as at I3, thus forming two substantially parallel extensions or leaves I4 and I5.

Upon the underside of the upper leaf I4, and near its outer end, is provided a tapered male formation or spline 24, having its longitudinally extending side walls converging downwardly.

Securedto the swivel supporting post II, is a plate or supporting structure I9, provided at its opposite side margins with the slides 20 which receive the side margins of the lower leaf I5 of spring I2.

Stop lugs 2| are provided at the ends of the slides for limiting the adjusting movement of the seat.

Secured to the supporting structure I9 is a female or grooved member 22 having a tapered or wedge-shaped groove 23, of corresponding shape and adapted to receive the spline 24. The spring I2 is so formed as normally to maintain the spline element 24 with a loose or movable t in groove 23.

The groove member 22, which is secured to the supporting structure I9, projects through an opening 25, in the lower spring leaf I5, of suflcient area to permit the necessary sliding movement of the spring I2 with its spline member 24, in its forward-and-baok adjusting movement, so that within required limits the seat ID and its supporting spring I2, may have free forward and back movement, so long as the parts are maintained with the spline 24 loosely seated within the groove 23, and this is the position normally maintained by the spring I2, when there is no weight upon the seat. When however there is pressure or weight upon the seat, by a person sitting thereon, the spring is sufficiently flexed to bring the spline and groove margins into locking relationship.

This spring I2 is preferably provided with a cut-out part 26 merely to render the spring more ilexible.

What we claim is:

In an adjustable seat supporting device, the combination of a seat-member, and a main supporting structure, a substantially U-shaped wide spring having parallel horizontal extensions from an intermediate bend, one extension of said spring being secured to the seat-member, a spline element and a cooperating groove element, one element connected to the seat-member and the other element connected to the main supporting structure, said spline and groove having downwardly converging walls, and said main supporting structure provided with slide-ways receiving the other spring extension and stops on the supporting structure for engaging the second spring extension and limiting the range of adjustment.

JOSEPH S. PECKER. HENRY A. SIMPSON. 

